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84 wanderlust.co.uk September 2019
Along its cobblestone streets, antiquity blended
seamlessly with charming boutique hotels,
cosmopolitan restaurants and stylish shops selling
Central America’s finest crafts. Yet, whether I was
people-watching along the colonial arcades of the
Plaza Central, dipping into the shade of the Iglesia
de la Merced or shopping for luminous Guatemalan
jade or one-of-a-kind weavings, the omnipresent
gaze of the volcanoes Agua, Acatenango and the
still-smoking Fuego followed me.
It was a horizon that would become familiar
overthenextfewdays,asI set off on the trek
toLakeAtitlán.Outofthe city, we left Maximón
farbehindandbegantowind our way up
abroaddirttrailuntilwereached the cloud
forest.Onemoment,shafts of sunlight
piercedthedensecanopy, the next we were
surroundedbyanimpenetrable mist that
swirledaroundtheloftytees.
Thehigherwegot,themore otherworldly
thelandscapebecame,wih branches festooned
witholdman’sbeardandsprinkled with water-
lovingbromeliads,whileluxuriant ferns
threatenedtoovertaketh trail.
Ihalf-walked,half-skidded down a shoulder-
widthmuddytrackuntilI emerged at the edge
ofavillageandfoundtheTerra Camp – a row of
spacioussafari-styletents with a circle of colourful
deckchairssetaroundthe campfire. After a hot
shower–ingeniouslyattached to the truck that
carriedourgear–ourgro p of six, plus our
Guatemalanguide,‘Super’ Mario, sat down to
aconvivialdinneranddiscussed the ups and downs
ofthefollowingday,thenI fell into bed, complete
withaninflatabledouble attress, hot-water
bottle,duvetandmarshmallow-soft pillows.
It’sachallengingtrek,covering 11 to 15
kilometresadayandafew thousand metres
inelevation(2,745matitshighest). There were,
mercifully,nodawnstarts or dusk finishes, but
ourroutealsotookusthr ugh some of the most
remoteruralcommunities in the region.
Theseconddaywasthehardest, but we were
bolsteredbyaheartybreakfast – fresh fruit,
granolaandeggs,allwashed down with
Guatemalancoffee–before heading down steep
stonypathsflankedwithendless avocado plants
and panoramic views over Acatenango.
Further down, we traversed the forested slopes
of the La Vega river valley, crossing the gorge
Indiana Jones-style by a hanging bridge and then
climbing up through small family farms until
we reached the village of La Pila, before the final
push to Fuego Camp. This borders one of the
poorest communities in Guatemala, where there’s
no electricity or running water, and renting the
land for the campsite gives some much-needed
additional income.
In the fading light, we sat around the campfire
with a well-earned cold beer, but the trail hadTown & country
(top to bottom) Locals stroll
through Arco de Santa
Catalina in Antigua, which
originally connected the
Catalina convent to a local
school; a painting by an
indigenous artist in Lake
Atitlán’s San Juan La Laguna;
deckchairs sit planted around
the campire of Fuego Camp